Lawyers for suspected assassin Luigi Mangione, an Ivy League graduate accused of gunning down Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York City, have filed a motion in federal court asking the judge to block the Justice Department from pursuing the death penalty if he is convicted.
Mangione’s lawyers argued that the federal case, which was filed after New York prosecutors leveled their own murder and terrorism charges against him, is “arbitrary and capricious” and that the directive for US attorneys to seek capital punishment is politically motivated.
In a second argument, they also took issue with a Justice Department Instagram post in which the language suggested that Mangione has already been convicted of the charges — he has not — and that such language prejudiced the grand jury process, which could still be underway with the deadline to file an indictment coming next week.
“After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again,” Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on April 1.
The filing, signed by Mangione attorneys Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Avi Moskowitz, also took issue with language they argue suggests that the victim’s status as a CEO influenced the decision to seek capital punishment.
“Very clearly, this is a case that will be tried both inside the courtroom, and outside it,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector who has been closely following the investigation.
That poses challenges to lawyers on both sides, for the judge, and for the end result to be “fully founded in justice.”
“Mangione is not even federally indicted yet, and the gamesmanship has begun,” he added.
Thompson, 50, was a father of two visiting New York City for a publicly announced shareholder conference.
Surveillance video from outside the hotel where the conference was to be held shows a gunman approach him from behind and open fire, then walk away as a female witness runs in the opposite direction.
“Counsel is aware of no provision in the death penalty statute or in the Department of Justice’s death penalty protocol that allows for consideration of the social, economic or professional status of an alleged homicide victim in determining whether to seek the death penalty,” they wrote.
Mangione is accused of plotting the assassination in order to sow terror in the health insurance industry, which he allegedly railed against in a journal police seized during his arrest in Pennsylvania days after the shooting.
His lawyers are asking the court to take away the potential death penalty as an option if he is convicted, to order grand jurors to be screened for potential prejudice, to order Bondi to confirm she is aware of rules governing extrajudicial statements, and to inspect internal Justice Department documents as well as communications between the government and “anyone advocating for the death penalty” on behalf any business, corporate interest or lobby.
Nicholas Biase, the chief of public affairs for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment on the new defense filing.
